silence7@slrpnk.netM to Climate - truthful information about climate, related activism and politics.@slrpnk.netEnglish · 9 months ago
silence7@slrpnk.netM to Climate - truthful information about climate, related activism and politics.@slrpnk.netEnglish · 9 months ago
I agree that car accessories like radios, seat belts, and CD players have improved significantly, but that does not translate to ICEs themselves being significantly improved.
Combustion engines:
1923 - 14 mpg
1966 - 13.5 mpg
1991 - 16 mpg
2019 - 25mpg
Electric cars:
2009 - 85 mpge
2019 - 113
Drivetrains, fuel efficiency, sustainable fuel (solar panels built into the body of the car), battery tech improvement, and so on.
Electric cars have all of the accessory improvements you’re talking about related to ICEs, but are also rapidly minimizing all the relevant material, environmental, and even maintenance costs of manufacturing and operating vehicles to become more sustainable at a much more rapid pace than ICEs have.
Those numbers will go down once everyone is driving 4wd EV Suburbans with half-inch steel plate armor (you know, just so they feel their kids are safe) :)
I’m hoping the current lack of sedan/small car options and growing bad press surrounding large vehicles will lead to a resurgence of small cars in 7-15 years, but I doubt it will in reality